I am not great to sticking to a skincare routine. I dread to think how much I have spent over the years on cleansers and toners and day creams and night creams, only to lose steam after a week or so, and then leave them to languish in my bathroom drawer until they expire and I get another wave of motivation, and buy the same stuff again, and again, and again, and again. It’s one of those things that I know I should do as a functioning adult, that I know future me will thank me for, and yet, I’ve never been really able to stick to it until recently.

It was actually my hands that started it. Between winter driness, and increasingly amounts of yard work as the weather warmed up, my hands were looking very much the worse for wear. I chucked my rose hand lotion onto the school trolley, and started applying it regularly throughout the day. Soon my hands were looking much happier, and even some of the little pigmentation spots seemed to be getting lighter. It made me think I should start using my Verage skin care products again. Then came crunch time – I went to the hairdressers. It was my first haircut since before Christmas, and nothing says “mate you REALLY need a skincare routine” like staring at yourself in a mirror for 45 minutes under the bright lights of a salon. It was…not good.

On the upside, that was enough to give me the kick up the butt I needed, and 6 weeks later, I am still rolling with it – the longest I’ve managed to stick with it. The biggest key is, I think for me, is having my products out and visible and right where I will see them as soon as I walk in the bathroom. In the town house I always tucked all the various bottles away in a drawer or cupboard to keep the bathroom tidy. In the farm cabin, however, the bathroom isn’t exactly pretty or designed for aesthetics, so it’s not really making a difference whether I leave my stuff out or put it away. Once the new house is built, I will have to come up with a new option to make my routine visible and easy but not messy – or hopefully, by then, it will be such a habit I won’t have to have it out cluttering up the bench. The other main part is keeping it super simple. The quicker and easier it is to power through, the more likely I am to stick with it.

STEP ONE: One squirt of tightening serum, applied all over my face. The instructions say to apply in an upwards motion (isn’t that like skincare 101? Apply up so you aren’t helping gravity along?), but eh. Some goes on upwards, some goes on…however. Whatever. It’s on and I keep moving

STEP TWO: Anti-aging eye cream. A little squeeze of the pen and applied under the eyes, and doneskis.

STEP THREE: One squirt of Verage moisturiser, a drop of copaiba & a drop of Yarrow Pom, mixed together in my palm, and applied. Again, sometimes upwards, sometimes not.

And that’s it! I do it pretty much first thing of a morning, while I wait for the kettle to boil. Sometimes I don’t do it until after my shower, especially if I am doing some work outside, and on those days, I also add in a cleansing step, with a single squirt of the Verage cleanser while showering.

I have some empty bottles I have washed and delabelled, that I intend to use to premix the oils to add to my moisturiser, which will make it even quicker again.

Six weeks on, and the habit is well and truly sticking, and my skin is showing the benefits. I didn’t think to take a before photo, so don’t have any comparison photos to show you, but what I see looking back at me in the mirror isn’t quite as scary as what it was when I started. My under-eye bags are shrinking, wrinkles and lines are softer, and even some of the darker pigmentation spots are starting to fade a bit. It’s enough to keep me motivated to stick with my routine, at any rate. Probably should’ve started 10 years ago, but better late than never, I guess?

{UPDATE: I’ve popped up a listing in the shop for a curated starter pack if these products are something you would like to try}